Steadfast Hearts for a Sure Harvest

Steadfast Hearts for a Sure Harvest

Galatians 6:9-10

Are you weary this morning? Maybe you are a faithful volunteer who has served in children’s ministry for years and wonders if anyone notices or if you are making any difference. Maybe you are the husband caring for his wife through a long illness, grateful for the privilege but worn out from long nights and quiet loneliness. Maybe you are the parent trying to disciple teenagers, praying and speaking truth while feeling like nothing is sinking in. Maybe you are the leader who carries the weight of others’ sorrows and wonders if you have anything left to give. God does not shame weary hearts. He meets weary hearts with the promise that in due season we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Paul understands the temptation to give up. Galatians was written to believers who were growing discouraged and confused, pulled between the gospel of grace and the pressure to turn back to self-reliance and empty religion. After scolding them earlier in the letter for drifting from the truth, Paul now points them to the kindness of God and calls them to keep walking by the Spirit. Our passage comes near the end of the book as a gentle but urgent reminder that the Christian life is not only about beginning with faith but continuing with perseverance. The theme of this sermon is simple and hopeful. Because God promises a sure harvest, His people can resist discouragement, keep doing good, and love the family of Christ with renewed strength.

Recognize Your Weariness

Paul begins these well-known verses by acknowledging that believers need encouragement not to grow weary in doing good,

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

The command itself assumes that weariness is normal. Even faithful obedience can feel slow, unnoticed, and costly. It can be like planting seeds but seeing bare ground day after day, while God quietly works beneath the surface. The temptation is not always to run into sin but simply to stop pressing forward, to settle, to withdraw, or to believe our small acts of faithfulness no longer matter. Before giving a promise, Paul names the struggle: our hearts get tired. His first reminder is not to give into the tiredness because God sees, God knows, and He is not finished with you.

Before we talk about not being weary, let us acknowledge different circumstances that make us weary. It may be some or all of these.

• Carrying long-term burdens

• Serving while feeling unseen

• Walking through unanswered prayers

• Navigating strained relationships

• Fighting recurring temptation

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Weariness has many faces, and Paul understands every one of them. Here are four reasons we may grow weary.

One reason we may grow weary is that our devotion to Christ quietly drifts. We may still be involved in ministry and still show up to serve, but our hearts are no longer being nourished by the Lord. When Scripture becomes an occasional meal instead of our daily bread, our souls begin running on yesterday’s strength. It’s like trying to drive all week with a nearly empty tank. Jesus told us that apart from Him we could do nothing, and when communion with Christ fades, even small acts of obedience start to feel heavy. 

Another reason we may grow weary is that we try to serve God in our own strength. Paul has just reminded the Galatians to walk by the Spirit and sow to the Spirit, which means relying on God rather than ourselves. When we slip back into self-reliance, ministry becomes pressure instead of privilege, and obedience feels like a burden instead of joy. God never asked us to carry what only He can accomplish, and when we forget that, exhaustion follows close behind.

A third reason we may grow weary is that we we attempt to carry life alone. Earlier in this chapter, Paul commands believers to bear one another’s burdens, which means God never intended us to face trials in isolation. When we hide our struggles or convince ourselves that nobody else would understand, the weight increases. Community does not remove our hardships, but it keeps them from crushing us. 

A fourth reason we may grow weary is that we lose sight of the harvest. We want immediate fruit, visible progress, or quick change, and when that does not happen, we can become discouraged. God works slowly and steadily, often beneath the surface and beyond our view. Planting an oak tree never feels impressive at first, but given years, it becomes shade for children yet unborn. So much of doing good feels like planting oaks, not picking apples. Paul reminds us that there is a proper time for everything, and perseverance matters more than speed.

So, first, we have to be honest about our weariness. But second, we must lift our eyes and remember the reward God has promised.

Remember Your Reward

Paul places verses 9 and 10 inside a larger frame when he writes in verses 7 and 8 that God is not mocked. Whatever a person sows, that will he also reap. 

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:7–9

Those who sow to the flesh reap corruption because the flesh can only produce decay. But those who sow to the Spirit reap eternal life because the Spirit leads us to Christ. Paul is lifting our eyes beyond the immediate pressures of today to the eternal harvest God has promised. Weariness grows when we forget where the path of obedience ends.

Paul is not teaching that eternal life is earned through our good works. Earlier in the letter he is clear that salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. Those who belong to Christ have been given a Spirit-empowered life that produces new fruit. Sowing to the Spirit does not earn God’s favor; it shows we already belong to Him. The reward of eternal life is a gift secured by Christ, and it cannot be lost.

The ultimate reason we can endure is because Jesus endured for us. Hebrews 12 reminds us that Christ did not grow weary or lose heart. 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. Hebrews 12:1–3

Jesus ran His race with joy, enduring the cross and despising its shame. He faced betrayal, rejection, and suffering without turning back. Where we often faint, He remained faithful. Because Jesus did not quit, sinners can be forgiven and adopted into God’s family. The Gospel is not simply our motivation to keep going. It is the foundation that makes perseverance possible.

If you are not a Christian, this is the good news you need to hear. God created you to know Him and to live under His loving rule, but all of us have turned away from Him in sin. We cannot save ourselves or work our way back to God. That is why Jesus came. The Son of God lived the perfect life we have not lived and died the death our sins deserve. He rose again so that sinners could be forgiven and given new life. Eternal life is not earned by doing good but received by turning from sin and trusting in Christ alone. Today, God calls you to repent and believe. If you come to Him, He will not cast you out. He will forgive you, make you His own, and begin a new work in you that will continue into eternity.

Eternal life is not simply endless existence; it is fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord. The promise is not only that suffering will cease, but that the God who has carried you will welcome you home. Every quiet act of obedience, every unseen moment of faithfulness, every tear shed in trust is leading toward a day when you will see Christ face to face and be like Him. Nothing lifts weary hearts like remembering that the road of faith ends in glory, where sorrow is forgotten, strength is renewed, and joy never fades.

This is why Paul says we will reap in due season if we do not give up. The reward is certain because God Himself has guaranteed it. Our perseverance is not sustained by willpower but by hope. When we remember what Christ has done and where He is taking us, strength returns. The Christian life is not about holding on with gritted teeth but about looking to the One who holds us fast. Eternal life is already ours through Christ, and one day the harvest will be complete. Until then, we keep sowing because the reward is real, and the Savior is faithful.

If eternal life is sure and the harvest is coming, how should we live right now? Paul tells us to redeem the opportunities God puts in front of us.

Redeem Your Opportunities

Paul continues to exhort the church to ‘look’ for ways to bless others. 

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10

He says  “as we have opportunity,” which means doing good does not happen by accident. Opportunities are rarely dramatic. In fact, most are ordinary and easily missed. God is constantly placing people, needs, and circumstances in front of us. The question is not whether they exist, but whether we are watching for them. A distracted heart will walk past what God has placed directly in its path, but a prayerful heart begins to see what was there all along.

Learning to do good begins with training our minds to think like Christ. Paul has just told the Galatians to walk by the Spirit, and that means allowing the Spirit to shape our thoughts and priorities. When our minds are renewed by the Word, we begin to notice what matters to God. We start asking different questions. Instead of “What do I have to do today?” we ask “Who can I bless today?” Instead of “What is easiest?” we ask “What is faithful?” Doing good becomes less about occasional moments of sacrifice and more about a way of thinking formed by grace. Doing good may look like these very ordinary things.

1. Speaking a word of encouragement to someone who is discouraged or overlooked.

2. Taking a meal or helping with childcare for a family walking through a hard season.

3. Checking in regularly on someone who is grieving or homebound so they are not forgotten.

4. Choosing to spend intentional time discipling someone who needs guidance and support.

5. Sharing the Gospel with a friend or neighbor because you love them and want them to know Christ.

Once we train our minds to look for opportunity, we will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s direction to do spiritual good to others. 

We also learn to do good when we slow down. Many of us are not unloving, we are simply moving too fast to love well. Jesus highlighted the Good Samaritan, not because he was the most capable or impressive person on the road, but because he was the only one willing to simply stop and help. Opportunities often appear in interruptions, inconveniences, and moments we did not plan. They come as a knock at the door when we’re tired, a text we weren’t expecting, a conversation in the hallway on our way to do something else. When we believe that God orders our steps, we begin to see interruptions not as obstacles but as invitations. The Spirit helps us pause long enough to care.

Finally, we look for open doors by praying for eyes to see. God delights to answer that prayer. When we begin each day by asking the Lord to make us useful, we find that He does. He gives compassion where we once felt indifferent. He brings people to mind who need encouragement. He creates chances to speak a gentle word or carry a hidden burden. Doing good is not about trying harder on our own; it’s about staying available to the God who loves to work through His people. As we have opportunity, we step forward, trusting that no act of Spirit-shaped goodness is ever wasted.

And if we are going to do good, Paul says we must begin at home with the people of God.

Respond to Your Church Family

Paul closes his exhortations with a strong reminder of the importance of the church in the life of the believer.

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10

He reminds us to do good,  “especially to those who are of the household of faith,” reminding us that the church is not a crowd but a family. The church should feel more like a home than a hotel lobby. In a hotel, no one knows you. You come and go on your own. In a home, people notice when you are missing and make room for you at the table. God has united us to Christ and to one another, and that means our first responsibility is to care for the people God has placed closest to us. When the family of God is healthy, encouraged, and built up, it becomes a steady witness to those outside. The world hears the Gospel more clearly when it sees Christians loving one another with patience, humility, and joy.

Let's ask ourselves, “When I think about doing good, do I prioritize the needs within my church? Am I looking to be served or serve others? Do I notice when someone is missing or in need and reach out with care? Do I come on Sundays asking who I can encourage, pray for, or help, or do I show up expecting others to do that for me?

Loving the church means paying attention to the needs within the body. Some are carrying hidden burdens. Others are lonely, wounded, or weary in ways that a Sunday morning smile does not reveal. Doing good begins with noticing. It means praying for one another, sharing meals, bearing burdens, and speaking grace-filled truth. The church becomes a place of refuge when ordinary believers take responsibility for one another. 

Prioritizing the household of faith also prepares us for mission. A divided or neglected church will struggle to serve those outside, but a united and well-loved church becomes a light in its community. When unbelievers see genuine care, forgiveness, and unity, they see something the world cannot produce. Jesus said that people will know we are His disciples by the love we have for one another. Loving the church is not the end of our calling. It is the beginning. A church strengthened by love is ready to open its doors, open its hands, and open its mouths for the sake of Christ. 

So where does all of this leave us? We are weary people, but we have a faithful Savior. Recognize your weariness and bring it to Him. Jesus said in Matthew 11,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30

Beloved, rest in Christ. He has offered rest for your wearied souls. Remember your reward, and let eternal life steady your heart. Redeem your opportunities and look for quiet ways to do good. Respond to your church family and love the household of faith as a priority in your life. We are called to keep doing good, but we do not do it in our own strength. We are invited to sow in the Spirit, but only because Christ has sown His own life for us. Jesus did not grow weary or lose heart. He endured the cross, He rose from the grave, and He now reigns at the right hand of the Father, interceding for His people. The One who began a good work in us will carry it to completion. The harvest is sure because the Lord of the harvest is faithful.

Are you weary this morning? Then fix your eyes on the Lord of the harvest who has promised that your labor is not in vain. Until that day, keep looking to Christ. Keep walking by the Spirit. Keep doing good as God gives opportunity. Keep loving the household of faith. Your labor is not in vain. The harvest belongs to the Lord and, in due season, you will reap if you do not give up. May God strengthen weary saints, sustain faithful churches, and fill us with hope as we wait for the day when Christ returns and makes all things new.